Any Other World
by ariel2me
Summary: When Davos told Marya and Stannis about naming one of the Seaworth sons 'Stannis'.


A girl, Marya thought. This one might be the daughter she had been hoping for. She loved her five sons dearly, more than her own life, but she still dreamed of a daughter. Now that Davos was a knight, her sons would be sent away to be pages and squires as a training for knighthood when they were still young boys. Boys as young as eight sometimes. She would not have to lose a daughter to the world that soon, not until she was married. Marya even had a name already picked out, a combination of her own mother's name and the name of Davos' late mother.

"What if it's another boy?" Davos had asked.

"Well, we will have to name him something else. I don't think Alia is a suitable name for a boy. He will be teased mercilessly by other boys."

Her husband smiled. "Maybe that will be good for him. Builds up character."

_He will have more than enough to contend with, all the mockeries about smelling of onions and salted fish, _Marya thought, but did not say to her husband. She knew Davos was only jesting, she did not want to ruin the moment.

"What about Stannis Seaworth?" Davos was asking her. "In honor of Lord Stannis, for all that he's given us."

_For all that he's taken too_, Marya thought. The finger joints. Time. Loyalty.

Davos noticed Marya's hesitation. With one hand gently caressing her belly, the other holding on to her hand, he asked, "You don't like it? That name?"

"Lord Stannis might not like it. He might be … suspicious. Suspicious and angry that we are trying to curry favor with him by naming one of our sons after him," Marya replied. "From everything that you have told me about him, it does not seem like something that would please him."

Davos was reflecting on her words. "I will have to ask his permission, of course. But I hope he knows me well enough by now to know that I am not doing it to curry favor." He stared at her for a long while. "But what is really worrying you, Marya? Are you worried that people will say we're trying to be better than we are? An upjumped smuggler buying his knighthood with onions and salted fish, and now naming his son after his liege lord to buy more favors?"

"Those insults have never bothered me," Marya reassured her husband. "But they do bother our sons, Allard especially." Allard had gotten into a few fights with people unwise enough to say those things in front of the Seaworth boys.

Davos nodded. "Allard can be very brash and reckless. But he is doing quite well right now, trying hard to keep himself out of trouble." Allard was serving on one of Stannis' war galley, aiming for captaincy of a ship one day. "If I had stayed a smuggler, that would have been his fate in life too. He might end up at the Wall, or worse. Stannis saved him from that fate, and gave all of our sons a chance at a better life."

Marya knew that was what mattered to Davos the most - not being a knight himself, not being called 'ser', or captaining a war galley instead of a smuggler's ship - but a better life for their sons. A better fate than they had ever thought possible when they were living in Flea Bottom and Davos was risking his life and liberty every time he went out to sea.

"I have no objection to the name, my love," Marya said softly. "But you must ask Lord Stannis first."

"Yes, I mean to do that," Davos replied.

Lord Stannis would not be happy with the proposal, Marya predicted. He would probably reject it outright, knowing his penchant for bluntness. Or showed his displeasure clearly enough that Davos would change his mind about naming their son Stannis. There was no need for her to tell Davos about her own misgivings, and hurt her husband's feelings.

Lord Stannis was finally back at Dragonstone for one of his rare visits home. He had arrived late yesterday evening, and was meeting with his lords this morning. Ser Axell Florent, the castellan of Dragonstone and Lord Stannis' uncle by marriage, had told Davos all this when Davos had requested to see Stannis.

"You will have to wait your turn after all these lords, Ser Davos. You are only a knight. They have far more important matters to discuss with Lord Stannis," Ser Axell had said smugly.

_I do not see a 'Lord' before your name either, Ser Axell_, Davos thought. But he merely smiled and asked to be told when Lord Stannis had time to see him.

But it was Stannis who summoned him to the castle that afternoon. An urgent matter, according to the squire sent to fetch Davos. He was to come right away.

Davos climbed up the steps to the Chamber of the Painted Table, feeling anxious and uneasy, wondering what it was that was so urgent, but also considering whether he should bring up the subject of the name.

_This is my only chance, I do not know when he will be back at Dragonstone again. Probably not before Marya gives birth_. And it was a request that must be made in person, not through a raven. He steeled himself for the conversation.

Stannis was the only one in the room when Davos arrived. He was looking out the window, staring at the sea. He looked older and wearier than he did the last time Davos had seen him, at King's Landing not three moons ago, during the tourney celebrating King Robert's nameday. Both brothers in fact looked much older than their years, even though both were still in their twenties.

_Ruling takes its toll, and being in the Small Council must take its toll as well._ And Davos knew that the two oldest Baratheon brothers did not get along as brothers should, much to Maester Cressen's despair.

They were like oil and water, King Robert and Lord Stannis, so different in temperament and outlook. It reminded Davos of his two oldest sons, Dale and Allard. But that relationship was not as strained, because Dale as the older brother was always willing to be the more mature one, to compromise.

"What do you make of this dispute between Lord Sunglass and Lord Velaryon?" Lord Stannis suddenly asked, without turning around. He was still staring out the window, gazing at the sea.

Was Lord Stannis mistaking him for someone else? Davos wondered. Surely he was not asking the opinion of a mere knight about a dispute between two highborn lords.

"You summoned me, my lord? Davos Seaworth."

The sound of Stannis grinding his teeth in irritation could be heard clearly across the distance from the window to the door, where Davos was still standing. "I know who you are, Ser Davos. Do you think I have gone blind?"

"No, my lord. My apology."

"Your apology is not required."

"I understand, my lord."

"Your understanding is not required either. Only your assessment of the matter in contention between Lord Sunglass and Lord Velaryon," Stannis said, finally turning around to fix his gaze on Davos. Davos made his way closer to him.

"If I may be blunt, my lord?"

"That is why I summoned you here, ser," Stannis replied impatiently. "What is your value to me except for your bluntness?"

"In my opinion, it is not really the hunting ground that is the true matter under dispute. Or the water source, which was supposedly the cause of the last dispute between the two of them. Lord Sunglass was angry and humiliated when Lord Velaryon refused his son and heir for Lord Velaryon's eldest daughter. Lord Velaryon was not very … kind ... in his rejection, shall we say."

"Babbling on and on about the Velaryons being the blood of old Valyria, and how their House had provided the brides for three Targaryen princes, I shouldn't wonder," Stannis snorted. "The Targaryens were the blood of old Valyria too. Where are there now?"

_Vanquished by your brother, my lord_. But Davos knew Stannis was not really expecting an answer.

"Well, what am I to do, then? To stop these two bickering lords from sending ravens after ravens to me pleading their case like two spiteful children? As if I do not have enough worries to occupy my time at King's Landing. Every day is a sore trial, wondering when my dear brother Robert will finally succeed in bankrupting the realm," Stannis said contemptuously. "If I have a gold dragon for each bastard Robert fathered, perhaps we can pay all of the throne's debt."

The relationship between Lord Stannis and the king, never close to begin with, had worsened considerably after the king's unfortunate and shameful conduct during the wedding of Lord Stannis to Lady Selyse Florent. It was not a subject that Stannis had ever discussed with Davos, however.

_And not the subject that he wants my counsel,_ Davos reminded himself.

"You cannot command Lord Velaryon to accept Lord Sunglass' son for his daughter, I suppose, my lord?

"Of course not. Nor would I wish to," Stannis scoffed. "What business is it of mine who the supremely unfortunate children of these lords marry? They could marry a horse for all I care."

"Then perhaps Lord Velaryon could be prevailed upon to apologize, my lord. Not for the rejection itself, of course, that was well within his rights, but for the manner of the rejection," Davos said.

Stannis laughed, a bitter, resentful laugh that sounded so sad to Davos coming from someone so young still. A man his age should not be this jaded and wearied of the world, Davos thought.

"I doubt those possessing of the blood of old Valyria even know how to apologize without choking on their words," Stannis said. "Fire and blood. That's what the Targaryens used to say. We will take what is ours with fire and blood." He paused. "Perhaps Lord Velaryon requires a gentle reminder of what happened to the Targaryens." Stannis turned to look at Davos and his worried face. "Don't worry, Ser Davos. I only intend to make him apologize, not destroy his House."

Stannis had turned his attention to the sea again, staring at the waves crashing onto the barren rocks of Dragonstone. Davos cleared his throat. "My lord -"

"I have no more need of you, ser. You may leave," Stannis said without turning around.

_Now or never_, Davos thought. "My lord, there is another matter I wish to speak to you about."

"Well, speak, then."

"My wife is with child, my lord. And -"

Stannis interrupted. "Yes, Maester Cressen told me the news. Your sixth, isn't it?" Davos nodded. Lord Stannis and his wife Lady Selyse had been blessed with a daughter almost a year ago, but the child had been struck with greyscale and had almost died. Davos wondered if Stannis was thinking of his daughter now.

There was an awkward silence while they both said nothing for a long while, before Davos finally realized that Stannis was waiting for him to continue.

"I was wondering … that is, my wife and I were wondering, if this child is a boy, we would like to name him Stannis. In your honor, my lord."

Stannis stared at Davos with an uncomprehending look on his face. "Why? An ill-omen name, Stannis, if ever there is one. You and your lady wife would do a great deal better to name him after one of my brothers. Robert Seaworth, or Renly Seaworth. Those sound more grand than Stannis Seaworth. And it will bring him more luck in life."

"But you do not believe in luck, my lord," Davos said softly. He hesitated slightly. "My wife was concerned that you might think we are doing this to curry favor with you. That is not my intention, my lord."

"Of course not," Stannis scoffed. "What's the point of currying favor with me? I have nothing I can give you, not more land, not a lordship. Robert can make you a lord. My little brother Renly, who is barely out of his crib, can give you more land in Cape Wrath, being Lord of Storm's End. There is nothing I can give you, nothing for you to curry favor for. Are you still certain you want to name your son after me, Ser Davos?"

Davos did not flinch from Stannis' intent gaze. "I am, my lord. With your permission, of course."

Stannis shrugged, looking very disinterested. "You have it. My permission. Though what good that will do you or your son, I cannot say."

"Thank you, my lord."

She could hardly believe it. Marya thought her ears were deceiving her at first. Lord Stannis had given his permission after all. Their son - for she was certain that it was to be a son, eight months into the pregnancy now and having carried five sons inside her before - would be named Stannis after all. Stannis Seaworth.

"He made no objection? None at all?" Marya repeated the question. She could not hide her incredulity from her husband.

"Well, he seemed surprised that we would want to name our son after him. _Why not after one of my brothers?_ Lord Stannis was asking. Though I dare say that was mostly his bitterness towards his brothers speaking," Davos replied.

"I shouldn't wonder, after what the king did on his wedding night," Marya said. "But I could never understand his bitterness towards Lord Renly. He is only a boy, what could he have done to provoke Lord Stannis so?"

Davos sighed. "It is not what Lord Renly did, but what he is. The younger brother who got the ancestral home and land that should have been Lord Stannis' by right."

"Then the blame lies with the king, not Lord Renly," Marya said firmly. A worrying thought struck her suddenly, thinking of Stannis Baratheon with his bitterness and his grievances. "You were not too joyful or excited about having another child in front of Lord Stannis, were you, my love?"

Davos was looking at her quizzically. No wonder, it was quite a strange question to ask, Marya knew. But she had to know. "Davos?"

Davos shook his head. "No, I don't think so. I only mentioned that my wife is with child – Lord Stannis knew of it already, Maester Cressen had told him about it – and that we would like to name the child, if it is a boy, in his honor."

Marya was relieved. "Good."

"Why, Marya? Why is that good? Should I not be joyful about the Mother blessing us with another child?"

_Not in front of the man who only has the one daughter, the one who almost died from greyscale and will now be scarred forever._

_Especially if that man is known for holding grudges and never forgetting a grievance._

"It would seem unkind to do so in front of Lord Stannis. Considering -"

Davos looked full of remorse. "Yes, yes, you're right, of course. I did not think of that, how neglectful of me." He frowned slightly, his hand scratching his beard, a sign that he was pondering something carefully. "Lady Selyse seems more concerned about them still not having a son, more than Lord Stannis."

Marya scoffed. "Of course she would be. If they don't have a son, people will not say that it is _their_ failure, or _his_ failure, they would say that _she_failed to give him an heir. That she failed to do her duty as a wife.. Of course she would be more concerned about it than him."

That child was a boy, the child King Robert had put inside Lady Selyse's cousin. That child conceived on the very bed meant for Lord Stannis and Lady Selyse on their first night. And a healthy boy by all account, fostered at Storm's End now, after the Florents insisted that King Robert acknowledged the child as his bastard. Marya wondered how Lady Selyse had felt about that, her own child not a healthy boy but a girl, struck by an illness that would scar her face forever.

Marya had no fondness at all for that lady, who treated Davos with contempt merely because of his lowborn origin. Indeed, Marya thought of Lady Selyse with contempt of her own. _Just because you were lucky to be born the daughter of a Ser something or other and the niece of a Lord something or other, you hold yourself as better than most people. _But as a woman, and as a mother, Marya could not help but wonder what had gone through Lady Selyse's mind.

And as a wife too, she wondered what it was like, married to a man like Stannis Baratheon. A cold man, by all account. And a colder husband probably.

_Will our Stannis be like that too?_

_Don't be silly_, she thought, _a name does not determine anything_. _If we teach the child to be kind and warm-hearted, like his brothers, he will be._

But she still resolved to pray to the Mother about that.

She was more fortunate than Lady Selyse in her husband. If Davos wanted to name their son Stannis, so be it. Only …

"Stannis Seaworth is a good name," she smiled. "The family can call him Stanny."

Davos looked abashed. "I was just thinking of that actually. It will be quite strange to call him Stannis. It is always Lord Stannis coming out of my mouth before, never Stannis. Stannis Seaworth it will be then, Stanny for short," Davos whispered softly to the child inside her.


End file.
